Safety toe iron for ski bindings

ABSTRACT

THE SOLEHOLDER MEMBER IS SLIDABLY MOUNTED IN A GUIDE WHICH EXTENDS TRANSVERSELY TO THE LONGITUDINAL DIRECTION OF THE SKI AND SAID SOLDHOLDER MEMBER IS MOVABLE IN SAID GUIDE AGAINST THE FORCE OF AT LEAST ONE SPRING ELEMENT AND IS MOVABLE FORWARDLY AFTER A PREDETERMINED TRANSVERSE DISPLACEMENT. THE SPRING ELEMENT HOLDS THE SOLEHOLDER MEMBER IN ITS NORMAL POSITION AND RETURNS THE SOLEHOLDER MEMBER TO SAID NORMAL POSITION WHEN A DISPLACEMENT HAS BEEN EFFECTED. THE SOLEHOLDER MEMBER COMPRISES A PEDAL, WHICH IS ARRANGED TO ENGAGE THE FORWARD END PORTION OF THE SOLE OF THE SKIING BOOT FROM BELOW. THE FREE END OF THE PEDAL IS HELD ON A TOE IRON MEMBER WHICH IS FIXED TO THE SKI. THE FREE END OF THE PEDAL IS HELD ON SAID TOE IRON MEMBER WITH FREEDOM OF SLIDING MOVEMENT IN A PLANE WHICH IS PARALLEL TO THE SKI.

an. 26, 1 971 H. MARKER 5 ,1 0

SAFETY TOE IRON FOR. SKI BINDINGS Filed Feb. 24, 1969.

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' IMl/ENTOR Mum/Es nnnnsk B7 LEW/I1 0! v H TT RAIEyS United StatesPatent ()1 ice 3,558,150 Patented Jan. 26, 1971 3,558,150 SAFETY TOEIRON FOR SKI BINDINGS Hannes Marker, 51-53 Haupstn, 81 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany Filed Feb. 24, 1969, Ser. No. 801,560 Claimspriority, application Germany, Feb. 28, 1968, 1,678,281 Int. Cl. A63c9/00 US. Cl. 28011.35 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The soleholdermember is slidably mounted in a guide which extends transversely to thelongitudinal direction of the ski and said soleholder member is movablein said guide against the force of at least one spring element and ismovable forwardly after a predetermined transverse displacement. Thespring element holds the soleholder member in its normal position andreturns the soleholder member to said normal position when adisplacement has been effected. The soleholder member comprises a pedal,which is arranged to engage the forward end portion of the sole of theskiing boot from below. The free end of the pedal is held on a toe ironmember which is fixed to the ski. The free end of the pedal is held onsaid toe iron member with freedom of sliding movement in a plane whichis parallel to the ski.

The present invention relates to safety toe irons for ski bindings, inwhich toe irons the soleholder member is slidably mounted in a guidewhich extends transversely to the longitudinal direction of the ski andsaid soleholder member is movable in said guide against the force of atleast one spring element and is movable forwardly after a predeterminedtransverse displacement, the spring element holding the soleholdermember in its normal position or returning the soleholder to said normalposition when a displacement has been effected.

Compared to so-called ball-locked toe irons, in which a pivotedsoleholder carrier is locked relative to a member which is fixed to theski, such known toe irons have the feature that the forces which actobliquely or transversely to the longitudinal direction of the ski areresiliently taken up by a progressively increasing spring resistance.This feature is generally considered desirable.

In spite of the above-mentioned advantage, these toe irons have not yetbeen successful in practice because they do not solve the problem ofeliminating or at least reducing the friction between the sole of theskiing boot and the ski. In order to reduce the friction between thesole of the skiing 'boot and the ski, special plates of frictionreducingmaterial have been used; these plates are mounted on the surface of theski in a stationary position or with a limited freedom of movement. Foran adequate function, stationary slide plates are relatively expensivebecause materials having a low coefficient of friction are highlyexpensive. The slide plates which are movably mounted on the ski consistof less expensive materials but are more liable to be deranged than thestationary slide plates.

It is an object of the present invention to find a satisfactory solutionin this respect.

Specifically, it has been an object of the invention to eliminate orsatisfactorily control the above-mentioned friction without need for thepreviously usual slide plates so that the way is opened for the use inpractice of the safety toe irons of the kind described firsthereinbefore.

In a safety toe iron for ski bindings, in which the soleholder member isslidably mounted in a guide which extends transversely to thelongitudinal direction of the ski and said soleholder is movable in saidguide against the force of at least one spring element and is movableforwardly after a predetermined transverse displacement, the springelement holding the soleholder in its normal position or returning thesoleholder to said normal position when a displacement has beeneffected, this object is accomplished according to the invention in thatthe soleholder member comprises a pedal, which is arranged to engage theforward end portion of the sole of the skiing boot from below and thefree end of said pedal is held on a toe iron member which is fixed tothe ski, said free end of the pedal being held on said toe iron memberwith freedom of sliding movement in a plane which is parallel to theski.

That end face of the free end of the pedal which extends transversely tothe longitudinal direction of the ski comprises desirably a groove,which is parallel to the ski and which is engaged by a guide strip ofthe toe iron part which is fixed to the ski. To enable a simple andinexpensive manufacture of the toe iron, it has proved desirable toprovide the groove in a length which corresponds to the width of thepedal.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described more fully and byway of example with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a central longitudinal sectional view showing a safety toeiron, and

FIG. 2 is a top plan view showing the toe iron of FIG. 1.

The safety toe iron according to the invention which is shown on thedrawing is secured to the ski 2 by means of four screws 1 (FIG. 2). Thetoe iron comprises a soleholder member 3 having a soleholder 4 proper,which is adjustable in height for adaptation to skiing boot solesdiffering in thickness. This adjustment is known per se and will not bedescribed in detail. At its two lateral ends, the soleholder member 3has two arms 5, 6, which extend toward the tip of the ski and engage theend faces of a helical compression spring 8. The spring 8 extendstransversely to the longitudinal direction of the ski and is mounted ina toe iron member 7, which is fixed to the ski. Stops 9 are providedabove and below each of the arms 5 and 6 and serve to hold the helicalcompression spring in the toe iron member 7. The helical compressionspring is under a sufficiently large initial stress and holds thesoleholder member 3 in its normal position.

In its normal position, a nose 10 of the soleholder member 3 bears on aguiding surface 11 of the toe iron part 7 which is fixed to the ski whenthere is a skiing boot in the binding. At both ends of the guidingsurface 11, the latter is offset at 12 toward the tip of the ski to anextent which determines the range of movement of the soleholder membertoward the tip of the ski. For a reason which will be described indetail below, the transition is not in the form of a right-angled step.On the level of the arms 5, 6, the toe iron member 7 that is secured tothe ski has a central horizontal recess 13, which serves to receive oneof the arm-s when the soleholder member is displaced toward the tip ofthe ski.

According to the invention, the soleholder member 3 comprises a pedal14, which serves to engage the forward end portion of the sole of theskiing boot from below. That end face of the free end of the pedal whichis transverse to the longitudinal direction of the ski has a groovewhich is parallel to the ski and which receives a guiding strip 15 of atoe iron member 16 which is fixed to the ski. The toe iron members 7 and16 which are fixed to the ski are interconnected by a relatively thinspacing plate 17. This plate consists of a material having a lowcoefiicient of friction. During a transverse displacement of thesoleholder member 3, the latter is positively guided. The materials ofthe parts which slide on each other may be selected for minimumfriction. Besides, at least two rolling elements may be provided betwenthe pedal 14,

3 specifically, between the bottom of its transverse groove, and the endface of the guiding strip 15. In the present embodiment, in which thelength of the groove corresponds to the width of the pedal 14, therolling elements will suitably be provided in the pedal at the ends ofthe groove. Alternatively, a backing roller may be mounted at the freeend of the nose 10 so that the soleholder member 3 can roll on theguiding surface 11.

If the soleholder member 3 is subjected to a force acting transverselyto the longitudianl direction of the ski and overcoming the initialstress of the spring 8, said force will cause the soleholder member tobe displaced transversely to the longitudinal direction of the ski sothat the spring 8 is more highly stressed. As the force decreases, thesoleholder member under the action of the spring 8 automatically returnsto its intermediate position. If the soleholder member 3 is subjected toa force which is dangerous to the leg of the skier, the soleholdermemher will be tranversely displaced initially by one half of the lengthof the guiding surface. Owing to the step 12, the soleholder member willsubsequently be displaced toward the tip of the ski so that the skiingboot is released by the soleholder 4. Owing to the oblique transitionbetween the guiding surface 11 and the step 12, the spring 8 canautomatically return the soleholder member 3 to its normal position whenthe skiing boot has been released.

I claim:

'1. A safety toe iron for ski bindings comprising: toe iron means fixedto a ski and serving as a mount for a soleholder; soleholder meansmounted on said toe iron means and slidably guided thereby in adirection transverse to the longitudinal dimension of the ski and in aplane parallel to the ski; a biasing spring for urging said soleholdermeans toward a rest position and for returning said soleholder to itsrest position; said soleholder means comprising a pedal of substantialwidth provided in the rearward portion of said soleholder means andserving to support the forward region of the skiing boot at the bottomthereof; first guide means for guiding the forward region of saidsoleholder means, said guide means being of such a configuration thatsaid soleholder means is guided in a direction transverse to thelongitudinal dimension of the ski until a predetermined transversedisplacement of said soleholder means and is then guided in a directionparallel to the longitudinal dimension of the ski after saidpredetermined transverse displacement; and second guide means forguiding said pedal in a direction transverse to the longitudinaldimension of the ski.

2. The toe iron recited in claim 1, 'wherein the rear- Ward portion ofsaid pedal extends transverse to the longitudinal dimension of the skiand has a transverse groove defined therein, and wherein said toe ironmember is provided with a transverse guiding strip adapted to engage insaid transverse groove thereby guiding said soleholder means in adirection transverse to the longitudinal dimension of the ski.

3. The safety toe iron defined in claim 2, wherein the length of saidtransverse groove is substantially equal to the width of said soleholdermeans.

4. The toe iron recited in claim 1, wherein the rest position of saidsoleholder means is substantially centered with respect to said toe ironmeans.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 11/1961 Blackwell, Jr.2801l.35(HA) 10/1967 Marker 28011.35(HA)

